Page 45 of Shadowkissed

21

LIORA

The moment he says it—I love you—my magic shifts.

Not gently. Not sweetly. Itshuddersinside me, like a storm being pulled loose from its cage.

I feel it crackle through my ribs, down my spine, into my fingertips. The runes along my arms pulse like a heartbeat that isn’t mine. My shadows twitch at the edges of the room, unsettled, anxious.

And it’s not just because I’m scared of what he said.

It’s because my magicheardit. And itresponds.Just like it did last night and even more so now, in the quiet of the morning. It seems louder now and I actually feel what is stirring awake.

I pull my hand from his slowly, like if I move too fast, I’ll start a fire.

“Liora?” Dante’s voice is low, concerned. He’s watching me carefully, but he doesn’t reach for me again. He’s learning.

“I—” I stop, swallow hard. My mouth’s dry, and I’m shaking. “There’s more I need to tell you. More that I am not meaning to hide, but just recently finding out.”

He straightens. “Anything.”

“My power…” I exhale shakily. “It doesn’t just respond to spells or commands. It’s not like human magic, or even regular fae energy. It’semotional.”

Dante’s brow furrows. “Emotional like?—?”

“Like it reacts to what I feel.” I pace away from him, dragging my fingers through my hair, the air around me already thickening. “Love. Fear. Rage. Guilt. The stronger it is, the morewildit gets. The harder it is to control.”

I stop by the window again, gripping the edge of the sill.

“I’m afraid, Dante,” I whisper. “Not just of Seraphiel. Ofme.Of what I might do. What I might become. I’ve seen what happens when I lose control—when I get scared or... when I feel too much. I know this all may sound like a pity party, but I just have been told to fear it. And I do. I’m afraid of what I can do because I have no idea what I’m truly capable of.”

He rises slowly, like he doesn’t want to spook me, like I’m some animal backed into a corner.

“You’re allowed to feel,” he says.

“You don’t get it,” I snap, spinning around to face him. “Youmakeme feel things. You make the magic stir. You make itwake upin ways it never has before. Last night, when I healed you—I didn’t just want to save you. I wasterrifiedof losing you.”

He walks to me, slow and sure. “So you saved me.”

I shake my head. “No. Ibrokesomething. I felt it inside. Like a dam cracked. Like something buried was clawing its way out. I’ve become professionally numb, but now with you–”

“Maybe it’s something good.”

“It’s not.” My voice is flat. Final. “It’s not good, Dante. Not one person has ever thought there could be something positive come from this. From me. And if Seraphiel finds out we’ve... if hesenseswhat’s between us more than he already has?—”

I cut myself off too late.

Dante stills. “You think he doesn’t know already?”

“I don’tknowwhat he knows!” I shout, panic rising like bile in my throat. “He’s everywhere. He whispers in my sleep. He sends shadows to follow me through the Veil. If he senses evenone sparkof a bond that’s now more physical between us, he’ll burn you to ash just to prove a point.”

Dante’s jaw flexes. “Let him try.”

“No.” I look at him, throat tight. “You don’t understand. If he finds out we’ve been intimate, he won’t just hurt you. He’ll use it. He’ll twist it. He’ll feed it into the ritual.”

Dante’s eyes darken. “You think he can use our bond against you?”

“Iknowhe can. That’s how these ancient rites work. Blood. Power.Desire.That’s why he’s waited so long. He’s not just after me. He’s after thepotential.The chaos of an unclaimed heart.”

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